RUSSIAN LETTER

In 1914, all the leaders of Europe knew that the outbreak of war would be a total catastrophe. Yet World War I began and set in motion a chain of catastrophic events.

As relations between the United States and Russia get worse, the possibility of war looms closer over the horizon. Can the United States afford to go to war with Russia? Is it truly worth it?

Russia currently has the largest arsenal of nuclear warheads on the planet, with 8,000 weapons in their arsenal (the U.S has around 7,000). They are the only country in the world capable of wiping out the United States in 45 minutes. So this is a very real threat that cannot be taken lightly. There is also the fact that both nations only have about 30 minutes to react to a possible incoming nuclear missile. And the reality is that it would really only be 15 minutes (if we want to react in time).So are we really ready to respond to an incoming nuclear threat in 15 minutes? That is doubtful.

There are those who say that a nuclear war between the United States and Russia would never happen. That Russia would never strike the United States, because that would surely mean their own destruction.

But we shouldn't be so sure.  Will the Russians retaliate if we box them into a corner? Putin himself has said several times that they would (the latest statement of this being at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, in June 2016).

The end of the Cold War was a huge victory for America, and the hard won peace between the U.S. and Russia helped usher in an era of global peace and prosperity. But now that era seems to be coming to a close.

There is nothing that America can gain from a hostile relationship with Russia. We need them as allies to help stabilize the middle east. They put our astronauts and satellites into space. And there's also the economic factor. The Western economies are not in good shape.  The last thing anybody needs is an increased arms race draining money out of the economy.

Still another problem that's occurred is that we are driving Russia into the arms of China. Obama is also adopting a very confrontational approach toward China's actions in the Pacific and the South China Sea. The Russians and the Chinese really don't like each other. They have a long history of border conflicts. But Obama is creating a Russia China axis which could also be very damaging in the long run.

We should keep in mind that it was an alliance with China that helped us win the Cold War. But can we now afford to have the world's two other giant military super powers allied against us? That's not very smart.

There is hope. Hope for peace and prosperity. But in order for this to happen, Russia must be integrated into a system of global security. This doesn't mean that America should tolerate outrageous Russian behavior. But far more efforts should be made to resolve the situation and bring Russia back into a cooperative relationship. That's the bottom line and failure to do so has the most ominous dangers for America. Things escalate. Things get out of control. One action leads to another action. That's the lesson of history. Those who oppose these policies should understand that they are pushing the world toward nuclear war.

Russia's assistance in striking up a nuclear deal with Iran was immensely helpful, and is an example of what can happen when Russia and the U.S. decide to cooperate.

So there is a crucial choice here. A choice between war or peace. Hopefully we can take the right path.